Sample of Competency-based Interview Questions

PERSUASIVEESS! Reason effectively to convince the other party. Achieve goals

and alter views by demonstrating shared benefits.
Behavioral statements:
1. Showing a cooperative attitude by convincing people that the decision is
necessary (rather than imposing the decision).
. !et an idea of colleagues" counter#arguments and resistance in advance # act on
this in anticipation.
$. Relate the benefits of ideas or recommendations to the needs and interests of
individuals and clients.
%. &resent compelling arguments to support positions.
'uestions:
As a member of a staff department how have you gone about persuading line
managers in the past( !ive an e)ample.
*hat is the best suggestion you ever made that was accepted by your boss or
colleagues( +ow did you present it(
*hat is the best suggestion you ever made that was re,ected by your boss or
colleagues( *hy was it re,ected(
-n a discussion most people are usually convinced that their ideas are right. +ow
successful are you in getting others to accept your point of view( .an you give
an e)ample(
*hat do you thin/ is the best way of "selling" an unpopular idea( +ow do you go
usually go about this( 0)ample(
"EA#-$%R&! Be active in reali1ing shared goals # even when you do not get a
direct benefit.
Behavioral statements:
2ealing well with different viewpoints as part of a (multidisciplinary) team.
*or/ co#operatively with e3uals or other team members to set
responsibilities.
Share information4 ideas and suggestions to accomplish mutual goals.
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Support team decisions even if not in total agreement.
'uestions:
.an you recall a situation when you completely disagreed with the way your
team was wor/ing( *hat did you do then(
+ave you ever been a member of a team that bro/e up because it was im#
possible to wor/ with one another( *hat was your position(
2o you wor/ together with colleagues at the moment( +ow do you deal with
conflicts 5 disagreements 5 misunderstandings in this group(
P'AI( ) AC"I%: 2eploy human and other resources to meet targets and
standards. 2o it on time.
Behavioral statements:
&lan wor/ so that it gets done on time.
6ormulate wor/ ob,ectives clearly including a timetable and priorities.
!etting thing done by focusing on the implementation.
Anticipate and act to compensate for potential ris/s and problems.
'uestions:
+ave you ever had to read,ust a timetable due to unforeseen circumstances(
+ow did you go about it( 0)amples4 please.
*hat are your department"s long and short term plans( +ave they been put into
writing(
*hat were your wor/ ob,ectives last year( *ere they achieved(
.an you give an e)ample of how your department arrives at operational plans to
ad,ust to new situations(
+ow did you plan your time at wor/ over the past wee/(
2escribe a normal wor/ing day or wee/ for me. +ow do you plan your daily
activities(
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'EA*ERS+IP! Set challenges within own parameters. 7hen coach and motivate
staff to reali1e these. *elcome and delegate responsibility. Be forceful when
appropriate.
Behavioral statements:
&ractice and stimulate open and two way communication including fran/ and
honest feedbac/ to co#wor/ers.
Show interest and give support and coaching when necessary.
-nvolve subordinates in issues of company and department policy.
2evelop ideas to improve departmental operations and ta/e the appropriate
actions to implement change and ensure group acceptance.
'uestions:
+ave you over had a subordinate who did not perform as well as you thought he
should( *hat did you do about it(
+ave you ever had to arbitrate between two staff members who were unable to
wor/ together( +ow did you get them to cooperate(
+ow often do you hold meetings with your staff( *hy not more5less often( +ow
did you prepare for the last meeting(
+ave you ever involved your staff in issues of company policy( +ow did you go
about this(
+ave you ever lead a wor/ group or pro,ect team whose members were not
lower#placed than yourself in the organi1ational hierarchy( +ow did you manage
this(
+as it ever happened that targets were not met while you were in charge or had
final responsibility( *hat did you do then(
PR%,'E# AA'-SIS: -dentify problems8 recogni1e significant information8 gather
and coordinate relevant data8 diagnose possible causes.
Behavioral statements:
7a/e well planned steps to gather and organi1e data for diagnostic purposes.
2istinguish the grade of problems and to indicate ma,or issues.
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6oresee problems and to ,udge their relevance.
As/ for 3uestions and ensure they are answered.
'uestions:
2escribe a significant problem that you were confronted with during the past
year( *hat steps did you ta/e to assemble and organi1e data( *hat do you
consider to be the cause of the problem(
9nforeseen problems sometimes arise. +ave you ever been surprised by an
une)pected problem(
+ave you ever been confronted with a situation which turned out to be very
different (and perhaps more complicated) than you had at first ,udged(
Sometimes a problem seems to have been solved when in fact only part of a far
more e)tensive4 underlying problem has been dealt with. +ave you ever
e)perienced a situation li/e this(
.an you describe a problem that you were unable to solve(
AC+IEVE#E" %RIE"A"I%! Set and meet the highest standards. Be
discontented with average performance.
Behavioural statements:
Set high standards and see/ continuous improvements.
-nput more than the re3uired effort to reali1e predetermined targets.
6ormulate realistic and challenging tas/s for yourself and the team members.
:aintain 3uality and urgency towards desired results.
'uestions:
*hen have you aimed for perfection( .oncrete e)amples please.
*hat do you demand of yourself in your wor/( 2o you demand the same things
of your staff(
-f you have recently had to evaluate a staff member or colleague on ,ob
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performance4 what for you was the difference between a good wor/er and a poor
one(
.an you remember ever demanding of others too much or too little(
+ave you ever wor/ed in a team( *hat did you e)pect of the other team
members(
*hen have you been satisfied with your wor/( .an you give an e)ample of a
situation in which you were unable to come up to your own standards( *hat did
you do about it(
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